Fruit orienting device



SPt 22, 1942- G. w. AsHLocK, JR 2,296,490

' FRUIT ORIENTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 28, 1941 Sept. 22, 1942. G, w. AsHLocK, .1R FRUIT ORIENTING DEVICE Filed May 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 InIHm-HL uw' @HNL Y nl Q if i o E.. ,1% ma@ rv @S QW INVEN-roR eorge W. ,45h/ack ../r.

ATTOR N EY Patented Sept. 2;-2, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRUIT onmN'riNG DEVICE George W. llshlock, Jr., Oakland, Calif. Application May 28,1941, serial rrd-395,670

(ci. 19e-:33)

12 Claims.

This invention relates to the orientation of generally spherical articles having at least one ries; the machine of the present invention is particularly adapted to the orientation-of cherries and other fruit having a stem indentation and to the subsequent stoning or other l{processing.

It is in general the broad object of the present invention to provide a novel orientation device for such an article as cherries. While in various of my previous patents I have dealt .with machines generally directed to this end, the machine of the present invention is particularly characterized in its simplicity, rapidity of operation, ease of maintenaxrce, and particularly in its eiliciency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine enabling cherries to be successfully oriented even though the cherries vare irregular in shape and somewhat irregular as to size. Previous cherry orienting devices have been successful if the cherries were uniform both as to size and shape. One cannot control the shape of a cherry and since the sizing operations usually practiced depend upon the shape of the cherry, various size cherries will come through in the same grade as a result of a grading operation. The machine of the present invention is particularly adapted to produce a high percentage'of cherries oriented with respect to the stem indent and irrespective of their shape.

The invention includes other objects Iand features of advantage, some of which, together with the foregoing, will appear hereinafter wherein the present preferred form of machine of this invention is disclosed.

In thev ldrawings accompanying and forming a part hereof,

Figure 1 is a side velevation partlyv in section illustrating a machine embodying the present preferred form of a machine embodying-` this invention. Y

Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are respectively section lines taken along the designated section lines 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 in Figure 1; 5-5 in Figure 3; 6 6 in Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a section through a modified form of pitting chuck support.

The frame The machine of the present invention includes 55 opposite sides of the machine.

a suitable frame structure made up of suitable structural elements including side plates I2 joined together by suitable cross bracing (not shown) and supported as by legs I4 from a supporting surfaces such as the oor I3. The side plates I2 are spaced apart a suitable distance, the plates being generally rectangular in shape except as appears Vin the right hand portion of Figure 1 whereat the plates depend to almost the floor level.

The feed conveyor A first or feed conveyor structure generally indicated at I6 is provided. This. conveyor structure is made up of a series of conveyor members generally indicated at I'I (presently further described in detail) secured by bolts I9 to angle pieces 2| on conveyor chains 22 postiioned on The chains 22 pass about suitable supporting sprockets, there being four vsets of these 26, 21, 28 and 29, the sprocket sets being respectively secured on shafts 3|, 32, 33 and 34, suitably journaled in the side plates I2 of the machine. Shafts 3| and 34 are normally positioned at about the same level so that the run of the conveyor between them is normally horizontal providing an orientation section generally indicated lat 36 and a subsequent pitting or other processing section 31.

lShaft 32 is positioned somewhat rearwardly and below shaft 3| so that the conveyor returns downwardly and rearwardly toward shaft 33, the chains passing about the sprockets on.

shaft 33 to move upwardly toward the sprockets on shaft 34 through a feed hopper generally indicated at 4I and presently further described.

The conveyor members I'I making up the conveyor I6 preferably include apertured metal plates 56 covered with rubber 51 suitably bonded thereto and apertured as at 58, the aperture size being slightly larger than the cherries or other articles to be handled. The rubber facing is preferably flared as at 59 adjacent the upper side of ea-ch aperture to facilitate placing of articles in the r aperture.

The drive and pitting head Secured on the side plates is a suitable superstructure 42 carrying an electric motor 43 and a variable speed reducer 44 connected by achaln 46 passed about its drive sprocket 41 to a sprocket 48 on a shaft 49 journaled in the super-structure.

AThe super-structure generally includes suitable pitting or stoning mechanisms such as that disclosed in my Patents 2,157,518 and 2,219,832. Shaft 49 also carries a sprocket 5| thereon connected by a chain 52 to a sprocket indicated at 53 on shaft 3| so thatl the stoning mechanism and the conveyor I6 are driven in timed relationship, the speed and relation between the two being adjusted by a suitable means such as that disclosed in Figure 1 in my Patent 2,157,518.

The feed hopper To provide for loading of the conveyor structure I6 I include hopper 4| provided by side plates 40, an end plate 45 and suitable end and side bailles 50 therein after the manner disclosed in my Patent 2,190,970. The conveyor I6 moving upwardly in the direction of the arrow through the hopper 4I, each aperture in the conveyor retains a single article which it carries along out of the feed hopper to the presently discussed orientation section 36.

The orientation operation orientation conveyor 60. Mounted between the chains and rotatably supported therein are a plurality of shafts 1I carrying suitablewheels 12,

tending upwardly into an aperture 58. Each shaft 1| is rotated relative to the aperture 58 torotate an article in the aperture engaged with the wheel. This is accomplishedduring movement of the conveyor 60 by a toothed gear 14 at each end of the shaft engaging a fixed toothed rack 16 securedbybolts 11 and spacers 18 to guide rails 19 carried by brackets 80 secured by studs 8| to the side plates I2 of the machine. Instead of rotating the shafts 1| they can be oscillated by providing spaced racks above and below gear 14 and alternately engaged by the gear; or the rack 16 can be replaced by a chain moved in the same direction or opposite to conveyor 60 and at different rates.

Rotation of the wheels alone is sufficient to result in orientation of the articles such ascherries. Depending upon the weight of the articles and the-size, the speed of the wheels can be vaeach wheel being secured to the shaft and ex-V by vibrating conveyor 60. To this end I pivotally support rails 82 on opposite sides of. the machine with a pivotal support 83 at the feed end thereof while at the other end I join the rails together with a suitable shaft 84 and connect this shaft by a link 86 to a suitable vibrating mechanism indicated-generally at 81 and mounted upon a bracket 88 on one of the side plates. The rate of vibration can vary over fairly wide limitsv and I have successfully used frequencies varying between 1,200 and 12,000 cycles per minute. Depending upon the speed of movement of the' conveyor I6 and the rate of rotation of the wheels, the speed of vibration can be varied and the three can be varied together to the end that the efliciency of orientation for a selected group of articles is a maximum. To this end, therefore,

the vibrating mechanism 81 is preferably made adjustable because it is subject to the greatest variation relative to the other variables.

With the wheels 12 rotating counterclockwise in Figure 5 a cherry is normally jammed against thel leading edge of the aperture 58 as appears in Figure 5, and even though the wheel 12 continues to vibrate, the cherry will remain in this position.

Fluid flooding A Orientation of the articles is normally facilitated if they are maintained wet during the orientation operation and to this end I prefer-Y ably position over each row of articles undergoing orientation suitable liquid supply pipes indicated at 8| `and provided with a plurality of jets 92 to eject a suitable fluid, such as water, a processing solution or any suitable liquid lubricating mechanism onto the articles, particularly cherries undergoing orientation.

The pitting mechanism To each of the shafts are keyed suitable sprocket ried. However, with usual size cherries I have Vibration of the articles In accordance with this invention I preferably vibrate the articles undergoing orientation.

at the same time they are subjected to rotation.VV

Conveniently this is achieved by vibrating rails 82 supporting conveyor I6 in the orientation region 36 although it can also be accomplished sets |03 and |04 and about the sprockets are trained chains |06 to provide a pitting chuck conveyor |00. A sprocket |01 on shaft IOI is connected by a chain |08 to a sprocket |09 on shaft 3| whereby the conveyor |00 is driven. Shaft |02 also includes a sprocket III connected by a chain II2 to a sprocket |I4 on a shaft 62 whereby conveyor 60 is driven, both conveyors being driven in time with the main conveyor I6.

Each conveyor chain |06 includes a plurality of spaced angle pieces |I1 connected by studs |I8 to suitable apertured metal base plates II9 each having bonded thereto the rubber faces indicated at |2I, the rubber being bonded to the metal base plate at least along one face thereof and recessed at |22 to receive the article support members 6I. A plurality of fruit stone passages I23 are provided to receive and pass the stones ejected from the fruit. To provide proper resilience, each section of the rubber facing is apertured or relieved as at |24 to provide a resilient support for that yregion of the rubber facing adjacent to the stone passage |23.

I n place of bonding the rubber facing directly to the metal, the metal can be relieved andthe rubber pitting support or chuck can be provided thereon as an insert. This is shown in Figure 7 wherein the base plate |26 is shown as relieved as at |21. A rubber insert |28 is provided detachably retained by a ring |29 fitting in a complementary groove in the base plate. Any suitable cooperative form of attachment between the base plate and the removable rubber facing can, of course, be employed.

Operation.

While it is believed to be clear from the foregoing that the operation of the device is fully set forth, a b'rief resum may assist in this understanding. The main conveyor |6 is driven through the motor 43 and the speed reducer 44, the orientation conveyor 60' carrying the rotating wheels and the conveyor carrying the pitting support membersv each being driven in a timed relationship and at the same rate as the main conveyor properly to position their cooperating elements. With suitable articles to be processed such as cherries placed in the hopper 4|, the movement of conveyor I6 through the hopper results in each apertured receptacle in the main conveyor I6 being filled with an article and `carried on to the orientation section 36. In this region the main conveyor is rapidly vibrated by rails 82 and, at the same time, each article on the conveyor is lifted from its support means El by the rotating wheel 12, the wheel and the vibrating means cooperating, in the preferred machine, to orient the cherry in that position shown in Figure 5 withV the stem indent end of the cherry abutting the wheel. To attain this, the wheel rotates the article about a horizontal axis until the article has been correctly oriented.

Once oriented the article remains in this position even though the wheel continues to rotate and the article is vibrated. Finally conveyor I6 moves beyond that point whereat it cooperates with conveyor 60 and the wheels are removed from their supporting engagement with the articles. When this occurs, the articles move down gradually onto the members 6| as the conveyor 60 moves around the sprocket and the wheels are gradually moved out of engagement with the articles. This occurs without the articles becoming removed from their oriented position. As the conveyor IB moves on toward the cherry stoning station the Aarticle support is taken over by the pitting chucks on the pitting chuck conveyor |00. In this position the articles are moved on toward the pitting station for pitting, the pits being ejected through the passages |23 into the pit receptacle trough |3| while the articles pass on and fall by gravity into the trough |32 as the conveyor passed downwardly about the sprockets on shaft 32.

The lubricating fluid Previously I have mentioned herein that the articles undergoing orientation should be maintained wet and that water, a processing solution or any suitable liquid lubricant can be employed.

Selection of the fluid depends in part on the subsequent use to which the articles are to be put. For example, soapy water is a good lubricant for cherries but the cherries must be thoroughly washed before consumption to ensure freedom from a soap taste. An emulsion of a petroleum white oil can also be employed, the so-called liquid petrolatum, as can emulsion of natural vegetable oils. In general, any material lowering the resistance between the article and the aperture material can be employed so long as it does not harm the article or the machine and is not harmful to humans if the article is intended for human consumption. In place of soapy water I the like. A list ot these wetting agents is givenA in the January issues of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry for 1939 and 1941 and in Bulletin E 504,. June 1940, of the Division of Insecticide Investigations of the Department of Agriculture. The use 0f these is of advantage on brined cherries because of the high relative hardness of the brine in which the cherries are treated.

'Ihe use of these lubricants cuts the orientation time to a fraction of that required when the lubricant is not applied. Further, and this is even more important, oriented articles remain oriented even though the wheels continue to rotate in contact with them. The use of lubricants is claimed in another,- copending application.

I claim:

1. A machine for positioning a generally spherical article having at least one face thereon indented but capable of supporting the article stably on a horizontal surface,.said machine comprising a first conveyor movable over a path, said conveyor including means providing a-series of apertures each adapted to restrain an article against unrestricted horizontal movement, a second conveyor movable over a path to position a wheel beneath each aperture to support an article in said aperture and rotate said Asupported article about a horizontal axis, means for rotating a positioned wheel about a horizontal axis, and means for vibrating said first conveyor during rotation of said wheel.

2. In a device for orienting indented fruit, means providing a generally cylindrica1 aperture coniining a fruit against unrestricted horizontal movement, a wheel adapted .to support afruit when said fruit is positioned in-said aperture,

a horizontal shaft supporting said wheel for rotation cooperatively adjacent said aperture to rotate said fruit when supported in said aperture by said wheel, means for vibrating said fruit during said rotation by said wheel, and means for supporting said fruit independently of said wheel.

3. In a device for orienting indented fruit, means providing a generally cylindrical aperture confining a fruit against unrestricted horizontal movement, a wheel adapted to support a fruit when said fruit is positioned in said aperture, a y

horizontal shaft supporting said wheel for rotation cooperatively adjacent said aperture to rotate said fruit when supported in said aperture by said wheel, and means for vibrating said fruit during said rotation by said wheel.

4. In an idented fruit machine, the combination of a holder for the fruit having an opening in its under side, means for placing the fruit in the holder in any position, means for engaging the fruit to support it in the holder and simulaperture to rotate said fruit when supported in said aperture by said Wheel, means for vibrating said fruit during said rotation by said wheel, and

a 'pair of members extending parallel to said wheel to support said fruit independently of said Wheel.

6. A machine for positioning a generally spherical indented article having at least one face thereon capable of supporting the article stably on a horizontal surface, said machine comprising a ilrst conveyor movable over a path at a substantially constant rate, said conveyor including 'a series of apertures each adapted to restrain an article against unrestricted horizontal movement,

' thereon capable of supporting the article stably on a horizontal surface, said machine comprising a first conveyor movable over a path, said conveyor including means providing a series of apertures each adapted to restrain an article against unrestricted horizontal movement, a second conveyor movable over a path to position a wheel beneath said aperture to support an article in said aperture and rotate said supported article about a horizontal axis, means for rotating a ,positioned wheel about a horizontal axis, and means for vibrating an article during said rotation.

8. In a device for orienting indented fruit, means providing a vertically extending receptacle of substantially uniform cross-section, a wheel, a horizontal shaft supporting said wheel for rotation with a portion of said wheel extending into said receptacle to engage and rotate a. fruit therein, and means extending across the bottom of said receptacle to admit said wheel and sup'- port fruit when not engaged by said wheel.

9. A ydevice as in claim 8 wherein the receptacle is cylindrical.

10. In a device for orienting indented fruit, a fruit conveyor movable over a path and including means providing a series of vertically extending receptacles, each of substantially uniform cross-section, a wheel, a horizontal shaft supporting said wheel for rotation, a second conveyor movable over, a path having a portion thereof parallel with and contiguous to said ilrst conveyor path, said second conveyor carrying said wheel and shaft and positioning said wheel with a portion of said wheel extending into said receptacle to engage and rotate a fruit therein, and means extending across the bottom of sai-d receptacle to admit said Wheel and support fruit when not engaged by said wheel.

11. In a device for orienting indented fruit, a wheel, means for rotating said wheel in one di'- rection and in a vertical plane to rotate a fruit in engagement with said wheel whereby said fruit tends to follow said wheel, and means for restricting said following movement of said fruit comprising a vertically extending fruit receptacle lhaving an internal cylindrical wall engaged by the fruit on that side of said receptacle which is effective to restrict said following movement, said wall being substantially uniformly spaced from the vertical axis of said receptacle, and at least a portion of said wheel being rotatable within said cylindrical wall. 1

12. A device as in claim l1 including means for vibrating the fruit during its rotation by the wheel.

GEORGE W. ASHIDCK, JR. 

